iPOD NANO

The Apple iPods have been reigning the PMP market for quite sometime now. From the days of the original iPod to the latest generation iPod Touch, each one of them has been successful due to its unique design.
The users of the previous generation iPod nano users started wishing when it will support video. Good news for all you folks, it already does!


DESIGN
This one has a funky look and is wider and shorter than the previous gen nanos. The glossy finish of the previous generation is gone and is replaced by a matte finish which, thankfully is less prone to scratches. It measures 2.75 x 2.1 inches and is .25 inches thick(or should I say .25" thin!). It begs to be held. Despite being insanely thin, it is quite sturdy. The back is still stainless steel. The bigger and better 2.5" screen has a resolution of 320x240 making it one of the crearest displays I've seen. It is even scratch resistant. The clickwheel is the same and the hold button is at the bottom. The headphone jack is awkwardly placed at the bottom right curve.

MENUS
The menu has been redesigned to take advantage of the wider screen. It has been split into two halves. The left side shows the fully customizable menu and the right one shows the album art of the track being played.
Cover flow feature of the iPhone has been used in the nano. It arranges the album arts of all the albums on the nano in a very appealing and useful way.

PLAYBACK
The audio playback of the nano is, as usual, awesome. A custom equalizer is still missing. While playing audio, then center button can be tapped repeatedly to show the playback menu which allows you to shuffle songs or albums without going back to the main menu.
Video playback is crisp and brightness can be adjusted duting the playback though watching movies on such a small screen is not a good idea. There is no TV output feature. Strangely enough, it is available in the menu. The battery lasts up to 5 hours which is a good thing.

EXTRAS
The nano has been bundled with quite a few games but its a pity that the previous generation ones can not be played on it.

VERDICT
The nano 3G is a great device and the only problem with it is there is no 16GB version available.

NERO 8 ULTRA

When was the last time you had to burn a disc and you didn't click on that nero icon on your desktop?
Hard to remember? Years have passed since the first release of nero and it has evolved from a CD burning software to a full multimedia suite. The latest one in the series is nero 8. It features a completely revamped interface from the previous version and much more....

THE INSTALLATION
The installation is the same as the version 7; its plain and simple. It has a custom installation mode which, I recommend because the typical installation installs a hell lot of junk on your computer. The rest of the installation is a breeze.

WHAT'S NEW?
The whole interface has been redesigned to give it a vista like look. It even has a start menu! Another new feature is that you can burn data and audio discs from the start smart interface itself. It finally supports the burning and playback of HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. For vista users, it also has a nice sidebar gadget that can make copies of non copy protected disks with a click of a button(literally!)

THE BAD
The problem with this new version is that it unnecessarily hogs resources. For those having slower systems, you can get a cup of coffee till nero starts! Even on decent machines, it starts after a delay of ten seconds or so which can be frustrating. Another problem is that the interface is redesigned so, it gets difficult to find things in it...(er...someone tell me where the erase disc option is).

THE VERDICT
This upgrade is nothing great and unless you want to burn HD content, DONT upgrade!